In the third quarter, on a first-and-10 at Oakland’s 23-yard line, Miller came off the edge and snatched the ball out of the hands of Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, pulling Carr to the ground in one fell swoop.

The sack was his third of the season, but arguably his most impressive.

On Thursday, following the Broncos’ practice, Miller said it was a spurt-of-the-moment play that he decided within a split-second, not one he was expecting based on his film study.

“For me, I’m just trying to get a sack, but as I was running and I got closer and closer, he was still holding the ball,” Miller said. I was like, ‘I’ll just take the ball.’

“Coaches always say — I’ve thought about that stuff many times — and they say that it happens in your mind first, or whatever the saying is. I see myself doing all of that stuff all the time. He was just holding on for a split-second. He was getting ready to throw it, too, so it was just a pretty good play.

“I would try to do that every single time, but it was just that play that I knew. It was different that play.”

Chris Harris returned an interception 74 yards for a touchdown at Oakland. (AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post)

OAKLAND, Calif. — The defense once again powered the Broncos to victory, this time a 16-10 win against their former coordinator, Jack Del Rio, and his Oakland Raiders. Here’s what coach Gary Kubiak and the players had to say afterward:

GARY KUBIAK, COACH

On the Broncos’ defense:
“They’ve been tremendous. We won two football games without scoring an offensive touchdown — that doesn’t happen in the National Football League. So they’ve been tremendous. Yeah, they gave up some plays in the first half and second half, but they were awesome. In the first half, we had no points so they turned the ball over. We hung in there, got some breaks, and had some really not smart penalties in the fourth quarter, which really concerned me. I have to take accountability for it and get it taken care of, but another great job defensively and finding a way to in.”

On Chris Harris’ pick-six:
“I knew we were coming on a blitz. I was watching the blitz more than anything. The great thing about our back handle — those guys when they get their hands on the ball, they make those plays. It’s those types of things. Chris did it all w eek. He had about three or four picks in practice throughout the course of the week, and he makes a play like that. It’s just a (heck) of a job.”

On the running game:
“I can’t really go out there and say we’ve been committed to running the ball. I think that’s one thing for sure. We were moving the ball, throwing the ball because of the way they were playing defensively. They played us a certain way against our three wide receivers that was conducive to us running the ball, in my opinion. We just didn’t finish and do it well. If you finish and do those things well, you’re doing the right thing. We have to look at everything.”

PEYTON MANNING, QB

On if he’s satisfied with the win:
“I don’t know. It’s a good win, any time you win on the road, or in the division. We didn’t do what we needed to do offensively — didn’t score enough points, didn’t take advantage of some of the red zone opportunities, the turnover before the half costs us some points. We need to do a better job.”

On the plays he was unable to make:
“We had some chances down in the red zone when we had the turnover. (Demaryius Thomas) and I couldn’t quite connect on one. I don’t know if he got his hand on it or just couldn’t come down with it. That was close. Then, we had a bad ball. We probably could have had a touchdown on that one. We were just pretty close on a couple things, things we could certainly correct. They have a good defense, but we could certainly be better — execute better down there in the red zone.”

T.J. Ward’s “Boss of the Month” campaign will award one fan two tickets to a Broncos game and an autographed photo. (AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post)

Broncos Pro Bowl safety T.J. “Boss” Ward announced on Friday his “Boss of the Month” campaign that encourages fans to be leaders in their communities.

The program asks fans to post on social media examples of them “stepping up and being a leader in their own community” using the hashtag #BossUp. On Oct. 31, Ward will select one winner and award them two tickets to a Broncos home game and an autographed photo.

Ward, who recently started the T.J. Ward Foundation to provide resources to young men and women in underprivileged communities, has been involved with organizations, including Purpose2Play, Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children.

Peyton Manning and Charles Woodson both entered the league in 1998. (AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post; Getty Images)

The Broncos (4-0) travel to Oakland to take on the Raiders (2-2) this week, reuniting Denver’s defense with its former coordinator and current Oakland head coach, Jack Del Rio. It will also give Charles Woodson, the Raiders’ 39-year-old safety who entered the league the same year as Peyton Manning, in 1998, another chance to finally get an interception of his draft classmate.

As the game nears, here’s a look at what Woodson, Del Rio and other Oakland coaches and players have told the media this week about their Week 5 matchup:

CHARLES WOODSON, RAIDERS S

“It would be great, man. He’s eluded me for 18 years. It would be great. It would be even better if we could come out with the victory. But it would be great to get my hands on one of Peyton’s balls.”

JACK DEL RIO, RAIDERS’ HEAD COACH

On if the Broncos look different this year:
“No, very familiar. Very familiar. Good players on all three levels of the defense. Offensively, they’ve got a first-ballot hall of fame quarterback and a couple of really explosive receivers. So it’s the same things that it’s been. David Bruton on special teams, one of the best in the league. I know the team well. It’s a good football team. I was a part of it for the last three years and we’re looking forward to the challenge coming Sunday.”

On what he learned about Manning during his time in Denver that could help him now:
“I just appreciated it a lot more when he was on my team. He’s a tough matchup. He’s one of the all-time greats and he presents problems. He’s like an offensive coordinator with the computer in his head, but he also gets the snap every play. It’s a heck of a challenge. A great football player and it will be a big challenge for us.”

Brock Osweiler scrambles before finding Virgil Green in the end zone late in the Broncos’ victory over the Raiders. (Tim Rasmussen, The Denver Post)

Brock Osweiler’s touchdown pass to Virgil Green with about two minutes remaining in Denver’s victory over the Raiders on Sunday has been well-documented: Osweiler first finds Green for a 38-yard catch up the middle on third-and-10. Then, three plays later on third-and-1, hits him in the right corner of the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown.

It was the first score for both of them, and it had been in the works for months now, thanks to Peyton Manning.

On Monday, when asked about the touchdown, Osweiler told reporters that he was relieved it was finally behind him, while also admitting he had some help. The play was called by Manning.

But wait. It gets better.

“I know Brock’s been waiting forever,” Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase said Wednesday. “Every time he would go in he’s like, ‘We’re throwing it, right?’ And I’m like, ‘No.’ You try to give him a little bit of hope. It was good that coach (John) Fox gave us a green light. The starting quarterback was killing me that we weren’t going to throw it there on the third-and-1. He talked Fox into it. He knew what Virg could do. It was a good call by Peyton.”Read more…

C.J. Anderson turned the game around with his 51-yard touchdown catch, the first for him this season. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

A bad start to Sunday’s game (see: Peyton Manning‘s two interceptions) quickly turned into a rout, with Manning finishing with five touchdowns and C.J. Anderson having one of his finest performances to date in a 41-17 Broncos win over the Raiders. Here were the notable and not-so-notable moments from the Week 10 game in Oakland.

BESTS

C.J. A-OK: C.J. Anderson fought to get a uniform on game day earlier this season. He delivered a 51-yard touchdown that wasn’t just the best play this season, but of most Broncos’ seasons. He broke tackles down the sideline and cut back across the entire field, shoving Denver ahead 13-10.

Running into a wall: The Broncos’ defense held the Raiders to 11 yards rushing in the first half during a battery of three-and-out drives.

Warm it up Chris: Cornerback Chris Harris continues to show why he’s one of the Broncos’ best players. He locked down receivers and recovered a fumble.

WORSTS

Line it up: The Broncos used the halfway point of the season and a Paul Cornick shoulder injury as a reason to reshuffle the offensive line. Will Montgomery started at center, Manny Ramirez moved from center to right guard and Louis Vasquez shifted from right guard to right tackle. The running game returned, but the Broncos’ linemen had four penalties in the red zone.

Manning mortal: For a brief stretch during the first half, Manning made mistakes, throwing two interceptions and nearly a third, and four of his passes were deflected.

Nicki Jhabvala is a Broncos beat writer for The Denver Post. She was previously the digital news editor for sports. Before arriving in Denver, she spent five years at Sports Illustrated working primarily as its online NBA editor. She also spent two years as a home page editor at the New York Times.